The Phantom has arrived.....

I went to see this film with my best friend yesterday and I asked her
what she thought of the film and she said "That was the worst film i've
ever seen" I turned to her and saw she was blubbing her eyes out(she
was being sarcastic).

This film was AMAZING!

It looked gorgeous, the singing for some reason has been slated a lot by
critics but I thought the singing was wonderful and everyone should be
applauded especially the two leads Emmy Rossum and Gerald Butler they
were brilliant.The songs sound as good as ever, there was one thing
that really ticked me off with some reviewers they have said "The song
are in desperate need in updating" and all I can say to that is "Don't
change perfection because its already perfect. The stand out moment for
me was the beginning,when the film changed from black and white and
went back in time to tell the story,it sent shivers down my spine. I
have to say i've never seen the stage show but now i've watched this I
don't think I need to

10/10 Go see this film!

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411 out of 523 people found the following review useful:

Play it AGAIN!!

This is what I found myself saying when the end credits started
rolling. I have seen the Stage Play 12 times. I have read the Book so
may times I can not count it(LEaroux AND Kay's books). I will not put
spoilers in here. All I'm going to say is go INTO it with an OPEN MIND.
Some of the scenes are different from the Stage play. IT IS NOT a shot
by shot remake. Bring Kleenex. Your going to need them. Butler plays
Phantom with so much Intensity you CAN'T help but love him. I am NOT a
fan of Minnie Driver by any means, but I have to say I liked her in
this movie, she was even funny in it. As for Rossum she makes a good
Christine. The costumes and the scenery were Beautiful. 2 days after
seeing it, and I'm STIL IN AWE.

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436 out of 574 people found the following review useful:

Absolutely fantastic!

I dragged my long suffering boyfriend to see The Phantom of the Opera
on Sunday, and was pleasantly surprised by it. Although I have never
seen it on-stage, the film version - for me - was so enchanting that I
now cannot wait to obtain tickets to it. The sets were absolutely
beautiful. France is known for its beauty, and this adaption certainly
paid homage to that. The theatre set itself was absolutely stunning;
marble and velvet being the main materials within it. Emmy Rossum
(Christine) was 17 when this was filmed and was absolutely outstanding.
When she started to sing, my mouth literally dropped open. Minnie
Driver (La Carlotta) was very funny in her Italian diva role. Her hand
gestures added to the mannerisms of a typical diva. Her singing was
overdone to add to the character (even though Ms. Driver did not do all
the vocals herself). Patrick Wilson (Raoul), out of all of them, had
the most captivating voice. Although Raoul seemed a bit wet and droopy,
he was still gorgeous and made the GIRLS in the audience swoon.
However, the star of the piece for me, was Gerard Butler (the Phantom).
Although his vocal skills weren't entirely right for the part, he
portrayed the Phantom as a lot of people see him; as a victim. I
actually ended up warming to him, and when asked by my boyfriend who I
would choose; Raoul or the Phantom, I said the Phantom. Something about
the way Mr. Butler played him, was so sexy and he drew the WOMEN to
him. Watching the Phantom and Raoul, certainly separated the boys from
the men and the girls from the women. Another pleasant surprise is that
Jennifer Ellison was actually rather good in her role as Meg,
Christine's best friend. Miss Ellison has been trained in acting,
singing and dancing and so was well equipped to the play the part, and
carried it off very well. I wouldn't be surprised if more roles in
Hollywood turned up for her. Overall, I rate this film a 5/5 and
definitely recommend it. It sent shivers up my spine and gave me
goosebumps. I urge those of you who haven't seen it, to become
goosebump friendly by watching THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA!

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315 out of 430 people found the following review useful:

Excellent!

I have had the good fortune to have seen the stage production 3 times
(twice at the Alhambra in Bradford and again 2 months ago at Her
majesty's theatre in London) and would rate it as the best experience I
have ever had in the theatre. So along comes this movie and I was not
sure what to expect, before going I said to friends that if it was half
as good as the stage show then it would be marvelous, well it exceeded
that - I would rate it at about 80% myself.

My wife and I saw the movie last night and were enthralled all the way
through, the costumes and scenery were superb, and we both thought the
performances were excellent. My only minor detraction was with Gerard
Butler, I just had this gut feeling that his voice just didn't quite
have the power to portray the Phantom to the full extent; but what do I
know? I have no knowledge or training or background in theatre or
singing, as I said it was just a feeling that I had myself.

I would recommend this movie to anyone who may enjoy musicals - if you
don't, then I rather think you would hate it (but then you are unlikely
to be reading this are you?)

All in all a wonderful night at the cinema, which I shall be repeating,
and I will be buying the DVD when it comes out.

9/10

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255 out of 348 people found the following review useful:

Superb Film - but stage to screen comparisons inappropriate.

I think some other comments here are harsh, especially towards the
performance of Emmy Rossum, who I thought made the film. Her
performance visually (i.e. expressions etc) is mesmerizing. I'm sure a
lot of this is down to Joel Schumacher who successfully steers the film
away from just putting the stage show on to film, but has actually
created something powerful in its own right, so I believe comparisons
of the stage show to film are unreasonable.

My only niggles are technicalities, the Phantom wears a mask which only
goes just above his eyebrows in the Ball scene (and shows no
deformation) and yet when the normal white mask is removed later the
entire left side of his face is deformed. The lip sync hing is often
poor, especially in 'Think of Me' which is disappointing, especially in
the knowledge that all but Minnie Driver recorded their own singing
parts anyway.

The Soundtrack has been given a spring clean and it really benefits
from it, removing some of the synthesized feel of the original and
giving it much more of an orchestral grandeur.

All in all, this film really took me by surprise. As I said above Stage
to Screen comparisons do feel somewhat inappropriate with this film,
but I was never that fussed about Phantom before or after seeing it on
Broadway. I can safely say that this film has converted me.

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226 out of 297 people found the following review useful:

A Brilliant adaptation

Well pinch me I must be dreaming, Joel Schumacher hs made a
masterpiece? I am not dreaming and I can tell you it is true. This is
everything a musical movie should be, fantastic songs, amazing sets and
wonderful acting.

I have seen the stage show once and enjoyed it a lot, but the movie just
blew me away, it was so lavish and gorgeous I was floating in mid air
or at least it felt like it. Emmy Rossum steals the show as Christine
the beautiful young ingenue, she has the voice of an angel and her
gorgeous youthful looks and innocence make for a wonderful performance.
Gerard Butler doesn't have an amazing voice, but for what he lacks in
singing he makes up for in acting. The supporting cast are great too,
especially Minnie Driver who is HILARIOUS as La Carlotta.

I loved this movie but there are bound to be haters who hate webber or
schumacher, my advice go in with an open mind and let the images and
music captivate you.

10/10

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220 out of 287 people found the following review useful:

Beautiful film

I was able to view this at a special screening and was very impressed.
It is a visually stunning movie - the costuming and sets are as
extravagant and lavish as the music. Gerard Butler gives a particularly
anguishing and sympathetic performance as The Phantom. Emmy Rossum is
beautiful portraying Christine and her transformation from a young
innocent to a woman who is aware of herself, her sexuality, and the
world of love. Patrick Wilson is a particularly dashing, heroic and
protective Raoul and Minnie Driver provides hilarious comic relief as
Carlotta. I particularly enjoyed the film's ability to delve deeper
into the lives of characters. It provided depth and context and layers
to all of the characters that the stage production cannot do. The
entire cast was magnificent and I will be hearing the "music of the
night" in my head for the next several days. I would definitely
recommend it and can't wait to see it again.

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192 out of 236 people found the following review useful:

Never loses it's beauty....

I have just come from seeing phantom and was completely swept away. The
stage show is my all time favorite Broadway show and I was a bit
nervous as to how Phantom and the music of the night would hold up on
the big screen but I needn't have worried because it was very
definitely worth the price of the ticket-and then some.

The movie, for the most part, retains much of the stage show, I'd say
about 85 percent true to the show, though there were slight
differences. The magic present in the show live, is still, for the most
part, here on film. In fact, I was wondering if I would cry during the
movie and of coarse I did. Phantom of the Opera's's loveliness is still
so luminous and the movie just fills your senses. I don't think there
was a sound in the theater during the whole movie.

The film's look-among the most riveting I've ever seen-colorful, rich
and oozing vibrancy, the look and feel are just magnificent. I sure
hope this movie wins some awards for it's costumes and Cinematography.
At times, there was almost a bit TO much going on which, as my friends
and I discussed takes the focus away from the music a bit and
maybe(though I'm torn on this) they should have toned it down just a
tiny tiny bit. Still, the look was so spectacular I'm not even sure I'd
definitely have done that myself. But still, 10 of 10 for atmosphere.

The casting-pretty good for the most part. I simply cannot believe Emmy
Rossum is only 18 years old, she is magnificent and I am in awe of her.
She was a beautiful, lovely Christine and I think we'll be seeing a lot
of her in the future.

Gerard Butler has been getting some flack. I actually liked him in the
role of the phantom although I began to feel more strongly about his
rightness as the movie went on, not right at the beginning. That is not
because he wasn't good in the role, just different then the stage
version. To me, his singing got more and more soulful as the movie went
on and his acting was an A plus, he wasn't just there to sing and look
pretty, he acted the heck out of the role and succeeded in elevating
the phantom from just a presence to a tortured individual. People have
been saying he's to good looking, well that's certainly not his
fault!(though they really could have gotten a more realistic looking
mask for him to wear.) And besides, his looks are transcended by the
end, they lose their focus until we are barely aware of them. He did a
really good job. Patrick Wilson surprised me the most, I think in a
way, I enjoyed his voice the most. He was simply Superb, and he too,
embodied Raoul. He is a talented actor with a moving, gently powerful
voice and he was great. Minnie Driver, Miranda Richarardson-all great.
Good casting choices.

All in all a great night at the movies-I am giving this a 9 and I think
if I had to say why it's not a perfect 10, it's just that this story
was meant to, first be, a theatrical production, and as good as the
movie was, and as many tears as I cried, it did not haunt me in the
same way as the stage show. That does not take away from the movie's
power or magnificence, I'm not even sure it could have been any better
at all as a movie. It's just that seeing it live sends chills down my
spine and haunts in a way that only a stage musical can do. I can
actually understand how some people are not impressed by Phantom
because, the bottom line is, this is as much about the music as the
story and if one isn't a fan of this type of music, one probably won't
simply find a lot here. But for those who have seen the beauty of
Phantom on stage, they'll (probebly) love it and better yet, for those
lucky enough to come into this film, and love it, WITHOUT having ever
seen the play-see the play-because if you think the movie version is
the stuff that magnificence is made of, think about all that live on
stage right in front of you. This movie is good and I admiringly give
it a 9 of 10.

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213 out of 293 people found the following review useful:

So good I've seen it twice!!

Having not seen the musical before, and only being familiar with some
of the well know songs I had no preconceptions, but was eager to see
the film being a lover of all things musical. From the black and white
opening scene I knew it was going to be visually splendid and from the
atmosphere created knew I was in for something dramatic. Then the
theatre turned to colour and all was sent spinning back in time and the
busy backstage frolics of the cast at the Opera House were bought to
life. It was not apparent who the leading lady would be for a while
until the chorus girl Christine was encouraged forward to sing
replacing the Diva and was transformed from rags to a Cinderella style
dress and sang with a pure beautiful voice and made me feel all magical
and warm inside especially when she hit that note at the end!! Anyway
the film went on and she was re united with her childhood sweetheart
who was very charming and although most say wet, I think was very
caring and charming (any girl wants prince charming on a white horse)
despite what they say :-) There were lots of dream like scenes to
follow and the film heightened emotionally all the way to the end, I've
heard the song "Wishing you were somehow here again" but never knew its
context, but the song and scene merged beautifully together for a very
sentimental moment in the film enhanced by the angel statues covered in
misty snow and a very Tim Burton moment. The phantom was a mixture of
anger/sadness/genius and you could understand why Christine was very
weak willed in his presence. I loved it, saw it twice bought the
soundtrack and rate it 9 out of 10. Karen (Freddies girlfriend) and he
liked it too!

I Really Liked This Movie...

So, I usually don't qualify my reviews, but this movie is sort of
special, and the comments I've read are from all over the map so I feel
I should give some idea of where I'm coming from too.

I've been an playwrite, actor, and director for years, with work of
mine have been doing both domestically and internationally, and having
appeared in plays both amateur and professional and every level in
between, including a professional opera and many a musical: whenever I
watch anything, I approach it on three levels: artist, critic and
audience. Also, I grew up seeing shows on Broadway, both mega-musicals
and little indy plays in the Village, and while generally speaking my
tastes lean more towards "arty and indy", I do have a broader pallet
and it would be more accurate to say that my real interest is piqued by
anything that is genuinely good at being what it is- which is one way
of describing "Phantom of the Opera." Because yes, it's not as complec
and intelligent as the work of Sondheim, or Kander and Ebb, but for
what it sets out to be, an enthralling and absorbing Gothic romance (a
genre that is rarely done well on stage, let alone as a musical), it
achieves on every level: the score (which is soaring and crashing and
large, just like the emotions of the characters who sing it), the
design (ornate and overwhelming and grand guigol to the hilt), the
story (which is totally ridiculous on some level, but since gothicism
and romance are both genres which celebrate the extremes of our minds
and imaginations, this is totally appropriate). "Phantom" is a
brilliant example of art where the content and the style of the
rendering of that content fit each other to a tea, and while it may not
be YOUR cup of tea I sort of feel that anyone who thinks it's crap has
basically missed the point or is just sour grapes because the thing is
so damn popular and so damn good at being what it is (and lets face it,
it's hard not to resent a success sometimes). Genius is often
ridiculed, especially genius of an unusual nature or in a somewhat
unconventional field (and Gothic romance, be it novel, film or musical,
is looked down on in general, usually for the very qualities that make
it interesting) and Webber's work is genius, because "Phantom" is, for
all its faults, tightly written, a brilliant balance of camp,
melodrama, satire and fairy tale, and while the style of music might
not work for each listener, it effectively illuminates the story and
conveys what is most important about the characters: their titantic
(albeit, somewhat simple-minded) emotions, desires, fears and
obsessions.

*SPOILERS*

The movie, in my opinion, takes what is best about the play and does it
even better. Though some of my favorite bits from the stage show (the
rehearsal of Don Jaun where the piano plays itself, Raoul's part in
"Wondering Child") are gone, they have been dropped in favor of
brilliant improvements, namely having the chandelier crash at the
conclusion of the film (it really brings the whole thing full circle),
and allowing more glimpses of Paris 1917, finally explaining why it is
Raoul returns, what happens to the Phantom, etc. Other good bits that
we see now but never saw onstage: an affectionate moment between Meg
and Madame Giry, some history of the Phantom, a deeper sense of what
Meg may know or not know about the Phantom's presence, the stalking of
Josephe Bouquet, the life of the underclass of the opera house, the
Hall of Mirrors from the book, etc. Also, the music has been
beautifully re-orchestrated, and never sounded better. I'll take
orchestra over canned synths, any day, thank you.

The cinematography is beautiful and the "opera" moments are well done-
complete with the cornball, almost intrusive dancing and vibrant but
totally unrealistic sets and costumes that characterized "grand opera"
at the time. The sense of constant claustrophobia back stage is great,
and adds to that sense of what it was like to live and work in this
tiny world where everyone is a performer and half your wardrobe comes
from the costume department (did anyone else catch that moment where
Christine takes her dress from the wardrobe?), adding to the central
question at "Phantom's" core- what (who) is real, and what (who) is an
illusion- and is real preferable to illusion, or vice-vera? The
bleedingly bright colors and deep shadows of the movie help echo all of
this- reminding us always, this story is not real, hero on white
charger and all, but we don't want it to be: it's a legend, it's a
fairy tale, it's a farce... it's a masquerade. It's, as the Auctioneer
says, "a strange affair." "Phantom" told and acted realistically,
totally wouldn't work, so don't ask it to, or judge it that way.

The best thing about this movie is the performances, and the director
has done a wonderful thing by moving AWAY from Michael Crawford and
Sarah Brightman, both of whom gave role defining performances, neither
of which are any more "correct" than any other. The question isn't, are
Butler and Rossum as good as their predecessors, but rather do their
versions of the characters work, and the answer is: yes. Return to
"Phantom" as a text, not as a show with a history, and you'll see that
Christine is supposed to be dreamy, lost, emotionally unstable and
young, just as Rossum plays and sings the role. Butler, with his
harsher singing and deeper range, is much more believable as a madman
who is sometimes pathetic and pitable, but still ultimately a deranged
egomaniac who lives underground and makes wax statues of the woman he
loves. The rest of the cast is equally good, with Minnie Driver giving
a heroically hysterical performance, Jennifer Ellison combining
strength and curiosity with innocence and a certain grounded quality
(I've always believed the audience is ultimately supposed to identify
with Meg, who is the only character who never panics and maintains a
healthy sense of "reality) that contrasts nicely with Rossum's morbid
dreaminess, and Patrick Wilson doing much more with Raoul than any of
the actors I've seen on stage. I wish Simon Callow had had more to do,
but such is life- at least he was there. Miranda Richardson continues
to prove she can play anything, and conveying more with a look than
most actresses can with a full script of dialogue. Her accent is
totally brilliant: it sets her apart, makes her glamorous and
mysterious, and at the same time, is another sly tongue in cheek
reminder that what we are watching should only be believed to a point:
it is, after all, just another version of beauty and the beast.